Ö÷²¥´óÐã

The government have announced that they are to look at subsidies payable to large scale solar power farms that have started to spring up across the country.

The so called 'feed in tariffs' are the cash subsidies given to anyone who generates electricity by putting solar panels on their roof, and amounts to a generous 41.3p per Kilowatt hour.

Unsurprisingly, because of the generous level of subsidy available, the commercial sector has started to take advantage of the scheme.

In October planning permission was granted to the UK's first purpose built solar farm in Cornwall.

And planning permission has been sought for a 1MW solar farm in Lincolnshire, by green energy firm Ecotricity, of a likely cut in the level of subsidy.

The government are worried that the money set aside to fund the system of feed in tariffs will be used up by these large scale commercial solar farms, when one of the aims was to encourage individual households to generate green electricity.

Schemes which produce more than 50KW - which is around the output of 20 typical homes under the scheme - are likely to face a change to their tariffs, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Other European countries have already announced subsidy cuts.

Last year the German government decided to cut the level of subsidy available for solar power generation in their country.

And the Spanish government recently announced it too will cut the price guarantees on offer to solar power generation, first set out in 2007.

Such was the generosity of these Spanish subsidies, offering 10 times the average price for electricity in 2007, that it lead to a 'Spanish solar gold rush' as ordinary Spaniards piled into the sector - but now more than 50,000 Spanish solar entrepreneurs face financial disaster with a 30% reduction in the revenue that solar projects will be allowed to earn over the next 3 years.

The Spanish government made the controversial decision in December to cut the financial support offered to solar power generators as part of its ongoing austerity cuts.

Back here in the UK, the government announced recently that the whole Feed in Tariff scheme (FITS) is to undergo a comprehensive review.

With similar budgetary pressures, that renewable subsidies in general could be cut, which may make some people think again about investing in solar panels until the results of review are made public.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• - What's this?

One of the questions that I'm often asked is how can global temperatures have reached near-record levels, when here in the UK we have had record breaking cold? It's an issue that many people have great difficulty in accepting.

Of course the answer is that the UK represents a tiny fraction of the planet, and where we have been experiencing extreme cold, other parts of the world have been experiencing unusual warmth.

The Arctic is one such region where temperatures have been way above average again this winter. have in places been as much as 6C above normal.

The main source of this warmth has come from unfrozen areas of the ocean which releases heat to the atmosphere, and wind patterns which have brought warm air into the Arctic.

In fact Arctic sea ice in January was at an all time low according to satellite data, which first started in 1978, continuing the long term downward trend, shown below.

The most frustrating aspect of measuring sea ice comes from the fact that we have reliable data which only goes back to 1978. But the trend, even from this comparatively short data set, is clear for all to see.

This is one of the feedback mechanisms which would lead to more heat being added to the planet.

The more the ice melts, the more heat the unfrozen sea releases to the atmosphere. In addition, ice acts to reflect sunlight back out into space; without the ice, solar radiation is absorbed by the sea, causing it to warm more than it would if it was covered by sea ice.

It may come as a surprise to learn that many climate sceptics and mainstream climate scientists have more in common than people believe.

Most, but not all, agree that increasing levels of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere will cause an increase in global temperatures.

A very rough approximation would be that a doubling of Carbon Dioxide leads to a 1C rise in global temperatures. But from this point onwards, their views become increasingly polarised.

Most climate scientists believe that this initial warming will cause further warming by way of positive feedback mechanisms, whereby melting sea ice can lead to more warming, which leads to more melting ice and so one.

Climate sceptics question whether such feedback mechanisms will all be positive - and if some are negative, then the earth could naturally cool itself down.

One such climate sceptic, Dr Roy Spencer at the University of Alabama, is convinced that clouds will act as a negative feedback; as the planet warms, it will become cloudier, blocking the suns heat, and leading to a natural cooling of the earth.

The continued low levels of Arctic sea ice continues to confound forecasts made by some climate sceptics over the last few years of a strong rebound in sea ice.

As a result of falling global temperatures recorded in the last few months, they may yet be proved correct in the coming months and years.

But if the continued drop in Arctic sea ice is at least in part down to a positive feedback, then it's a cause for concern.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• - What's this?

UPDATE at 6PM

A wind speed of 66mph has been recorded at Loftus, near Whitby, and at Donna Nook outside Cleethorpes, this afternoon.

The Environment agency has recorded 200mm at their rain gauge at Tow Hill, at the top of the River Ure catchment in Wensleydale, so far this month. This is 150% of the average February rainfall at this location.

ENDS

Severe gales and heavy rain have battered Yorkshire in the last few days. The highest wind speed was recorded at Fylingdales on the North York Moors with 70mph on Friday.

Pennine areas have had a month's worth of rain since Thursday. 79.2mm of rain was measured at Bingley in West Yorkshire since 9am on Thursday morning, compared to the average for the whole of February of 83mm. The catchment's of the Ure and Swale in North Yorkshire have had the highest rainfall, with 130mm falling in the same period - again approximately a month's worth of rain.

The River Ouse is expected to peak early this evening; all the other rivers across Yorkshire have peaked and are now falling. Pressure is now rising from the west, with severe gales again expected in the area for the next few hours.

The rest of the week will remain unsettled, with more rain to come on Wednesday and Friday, but amounts won't be high enough to cause further flooding problems.

Looking further ahead, into the second half of February, pressure once again looks set to build to the North and East of the UK.

At the moment there are number of different scenarios. A minority of solutions, which can't be entirely discarded, plunge the UK back to a very cold and wintry easterly, but the majority have a more non-descript blocked pattern, with a prevailing South-easterly wind from the continent.

Temperatures would be colder than average, with at times a significant wind-chill. Rainfall would be well below average.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• - What's this?

The January Global temperature, according to UAH satellite data, was 0.009C below the 1981-2010 average. The previous month, December 2010, was 0.181C above average

A year ago, in January 2010, the global temperature was 0.542C above the 1981-2010 average.

If the more standard 1961-1990 time period is used, (The Met Office and The World Meteorological Organisation use this reference period), the figure would be approximately 0.244C above the 1961-1990 average. The Met Office have predicted an anomaly for 2011 of +0.44C

Global temperatures have been now been falling since September of last year, partly in response to the continued decline in sea temperatures, which began during the early stages of 2010.

As always there is a lag between the fall in sea temperatures and Global temperatures, and for this reason, and the fact most models suggest a colder than average central Pacific well into 2011, global temperatures are likely to remain depressed for some time.

In fact the majority of models, with the exception of The National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) which is coldest for longest, and NASA's model, which predicts faster warming of the central Pacific with neutral conditions being reached as early as March, indicate the central Pacific will only slowly warm over the coming months, with neutral conditions not reached until late autumn.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• - What's this?

January 2011 turned out to be drier and colder than average. The provisional Central England Temperature (CET) mean for the month was 3.7C, compared with the average of 4.2C.

It was a month again dominated by high pressure, with north and east winds more frequent than normal. Rainfall was therefore below average.

Most of January's rain fell between the 8th and 16th, as Southwesterly winds brought rain bearing clouds in from the Atlantic.

Leeming recorded 30.2mm of rain, compared with the average 54.9mm. This follows December which was exceptionally dry, with 17.6mm compared with the average 58.5mm.

Bradford recorded 54mm of rain, compared with their average of 86mm.

Despite the dry winter so far, Yorkshire's reservoirs are looking quite healthy, standing at 92% of capacity. By the end of February, they should be full.

This is because February looks set to see a very different kind of weather compared with what we have experienced in winter so far.

The jet stream, having spent long periods to the south of the UK is repositioning itself across our latitudes, bringing with it a much more traditional type of winter weather.

The first half of February will be dominated by vigorous areas of low pressure bringing strong winds and rain from the Atlantic, with temperatures mostly near or above normal.

Although there may be brief incursions of colder air, with a risk of transient spells of snow over the hills over Northern Britain, a return to the conditions we experienced during the first half of winter seems most unlikely.

The chart below is indicative of what we can expect - high pressure over Southern Europe, with areas of low pressure tracking to the Northwest of the UK, bringing their associated weather fronts across us from time to time from the west.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• - What's this?